Many kids love geeky gifts just as much as adults do. Geek toys allow them to explore and to be creative.

On the light side of geekdom, my husband bought our kids an MP3 player. Just a cheap one, since the oldest is 5, but to me this is very practical too. We can download music as well as fill it with the CDs they already have. Considering how hard kids are on CDs and DVDs, I wish it were more reasonable to do similar with their movies.

There are a lot of really great science toys out there for kids, and some are even pretty popular right now, like the Eye Clops. I can also really picture kids enjoying the Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes, which I saw and played with last year. Didn’t quite fit in the budget, but even now I still think they would have been a great gift.

But some options are perhaps a bit more directly geeky. Such as the DIY Telescope Kit. Great for the kid who is really into astronomy. A quick lesson in what goes into making a telescope, perhaps as a lead in to a future, bigger telescope. Or for the kid who has everything, including that dratted cold they gave you, Giant Plush Microbes could be a fun idea. Cuddly yet noninfectious… at least until the kids get their hands on them when they really do have a cold or flu.

For older kids, I really like the Khet Laser Game. We try to do game nights every here and there, and while my kids are too young yet to really strategize, they do get a kick out of playing. We have some pretty unusual games too, since my husband is a big fan of Cheapass Games.

And of course, geek t-shirts are a consideration. ThinkGeek has them mostly in infant and toddler sizes, but some of them are pretty cute. I suppose it is challenging to come up with good shirts for the range where their friends won’t get it, and even if you explain it, the kids may not understand either.

The Learning Resources Gearbotics® Robot Motorized Set caught my attention too, as a switch from the usual R/C prebuilt robots. I mean, the Roboreptile is cool, but it’s always fun having kids build their toys to encourage still more creativity. That’s probably why I like the plain LEGO sets, Capsela, and K’Nex.

I have to admit, I’m not always so good at following my kids’ wish lists for gifts. After all, according to my daughter, every commercial she sees is her favorite toy. Why go and get her something she will probably play with at every one of her friends’ houses when she can have something more unique at home?

and how better to encourage her own geekdom (I hope)?

It’s coming… Black Friday, the big kickoff to holiday shopping. And you can count on my staying far, far away from all the malls.

My first reason is simple. I worked retail for 6 years. I got plenty of experience coping with the craziness and don’t need to participate on the other side.

But beyond that I’d sooner shop online much of the time. I don’t like shopping in a crowd. I don’t care if I manage to get my kids’ dream toy or not. If they don’t get it at Christmas, they can wait for a birthday. The deals can be amazing, but the crowds are too much of a turn-off.

Technorati Tags: black friday, christmas shopping, crowds

My kids and I had a blast earlier today. I got some Insta Snow to try out, along with a couple other things, and let’s just say my kids really, really enjoyed it. How could I not take pictures?

Not dandruff… snow!

This stuff came from the Vat19.com website, and they have a lot more really, really fun stuff. Things like the Coiled Beeswax Candle that has the ability to extinguish itself, or the Color Flames Colored Candles that I also received. We tried one of those (sorry, no pictures), and the kids both want them for their birthdays.

Not everything they have is just for fun. A lot of it is practical too. But many items have a sense of fun while being practical. Or if you don’t want to call it fun, call it geek appeal. That works too.

Their site is a lot of fun to wander. Possibly too much fun, in fact. I spent rather too long wandering the site while thinking on this post. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Who am I kidding? It was fun!

I’m pretty lucky. My shopping list for Christmas is pretty short. My sisters and I draw names, so no one has to shop for too many people. It’s pretty nice.

I still intend to take advantage of the internet. I probably won’t have to ship any gifts on my family’s side since we’re all getting together in my area, but there will be shipping involved for my husband’s side. For that kind of shopping I definitely love using the Internet. No standing in long post office lines!

I have two favorite resources for online shopping - Amazon and ThinkGeek. In my family, those two work very, very well. Considering the range Amazon carries, it works pretty well for a lot of people.

I’m very grateful to have a short shopping list. It’s shorter this year than it has been in the past, and that was a bit painful. Removing my grandparents’ names from the list because two of them died this past year was very emotional. Made a difference in how I handled the name draw too.

If times are tight, instituting a name draw is one of my favorite recommendations for saving money. Most adults really don’t need that many Christmas gifts. And despite how much fun it can be to find the perfect gift, a shorter Christmas shopping list is really nice too.

Technorati Tags: christmas shopping, christmas shopping list

I don’t care that winter’s coming and that things are cooling off. That’s the beauty of spas - you stay warm. But the thought of climbing into one and just relaxing sounds great to me.

It’s been a busy day. Just one of those run, run run mornings. It’s only now quiet enough for me to dedicate myself to working and posting.

But who am I fooling? If I had a spa, I’d probably be plunging in, instead.

They’ve long been on my husband’s wish list too. He’d even take one of the little portable ones, just to have one. But, as I keep insisting, they aren’t practical for our life right now. We’d have to have a very good cover, such as the spa covers of superior quality at HotTubWorks.com, and even then have to watch to be certain that it was in place.

I’ve seen how important a good spa cover is, and the ones offered at HotTubWorks.com look really good. A good cover means the hot tub stays warmer with less energy used and it is much harder for someone to fall in accidentally. As a mother that second part really matters to me. Their cover has locking tie-down straps, a feature I can really appreciate.

There’s a lot of information online about how to handle various skin problems, such as acne and warts. And you just have to wonder if they really work. There are titles like Acne Free In 3 Days, Mole, Wart & Skin Tag Free In 3 Days and the Skin Lightening Report.

I think of the three ebooks there, the one I understand least is the skin lightening one. I speak as a woman with plenty of freckles. Is it really so necessary to be rid of them?

Wart, mole and acne removal I definitely get. My grandfather had acne so bad he hadn’t wanted to have kids at first, for fear they would get it badly too. Obviously he changed his mind, but things like that can be really uncomfortable to deal with, on both a personal and a social level.

A lot of books love the 3 day solution. It’s a time frame people understand, I suppose, and so long as results start to appear people are going to feel good about it even if the job isn’t quite done. If it’s long enough to see progress, that’s pretty good.
Of course, assuming that these solutions work, they’re a lot cheaper than going to the doctor, and less painful when it comes to the things that have to be surgically removed.

It’s something I’ll consider if I get another out of control batch of acne. Doesn’t happen often at my age, but maybe every several years something gets a little resistant to the usual treatments.

Technorati Tags: skin care, ebooks, home remedies